Cameroon president polls open, incumbent seeks win

Cameroon President Paul Biya's campaign poster is pasted next to a portrait of U.S President Barack Obama in Yaounde, Cameroon, Friday, Oct. 7. 2011. Cameroon votes Sunday in a presidential election widely expected to take the Central African nation's long-time leader into his third decade in power amid rumblings of civil unrest. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
— AP

Cameroon President Paul Biya's campaign poster is pasted next to a portrait of U.S President Barack Obama in Yaounde, Cameroon, Friday, Oct. 7. 2011. Cameroon votes Sunday in a presidential election widely expected to take the Central African nation's long-time leader into his third decade in power amid rumblings of civil unrest. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
/ AP

"We are calling on Cameroonians to take their responsibility in their hands because in other countries, the people have taken their responsibilities and they've changed their country," Fru Ndi said on a nationwide campaign tour.

Since last year, Cameroon has grappled with a nationwide cholera epidemic that has sickened thousands and killed hundreds, as most of the country's 20 million people do not have access to safe drinking water and sanitation, aid workers say.

Tensions have also flared in the run-up to the vote. Ten days before the poll, unidentified gunmen in military fatigues blockaded a bridge in Douala and fired live rounds, while brandishing signs calling on Biya to step down.

Just two days later, police arrested 126 protesters seeking independence for the country's English-speaking regions. Activists have urged residents of those western regions to boycott the poll.

The International Crisis Group expressed concern that public frustration with the government could spark election-related violence in Cameroon.

The government has deployed additional security forces nationwide ahead of the vote.

The American embassy in Cameroon has warned of "heightened political tensions" during the electoral period.

"In the past, some demonstrations have turned violent and there have been severe crackdowns by Cameroonian security forces," the embassy said in a statement on its website.

In 2008, Biya eliminated term limits from the constitution to pave the way for his re-election bid, fueling already raging riots over soaring food prices that killed at least 40 people.

"It's economic rather than political factors which are the key driver of unrest in Cameroon," said Roland Barclay, West Africa analyst for consultancy Control Risks. "There are certainly a lot of grievances but I don't think that is going to lead to an outbreak of national unrest. It will however lead to localized protests which have the potential to turn violent."

The government has taken measures, albeit "piecemeal and unsustainable," to head off tensions, including putting subsidies on common foodstuffs and fuel and launching a recruitment drive to hire 25,000 youth into the public sector, Barclay said.